C - Suite

33 | Lily

NYLA WAVED TO the smiling cameras as she crossed Darius to take a seat in his car. Her face automatically morphed into something of annoyance as Darius opened the other side of the vehicle.

He sighed, mimicking her facial expression. "Well that was fucking dry."

She snorted. "That's one way of putting it."

They had been attending the famous International Debutant Ball. Normally, Nyla would avoid events such as these, but Darius had pleaded with her to attend and so she'd succumb to the pressure. The only reason Darius was attending was because his mother had been unable to fly out. When Darius told her he would not be attending, she threw a fit saying that the Giordano name had to be present.

Thus, her and Darius attended the most pointless ball ever. Nyla didn't know what she'd expected of a debutant ball, but she'd hit almost every nail on the head. Giggling girls? Check. Big dresses? Check. Annoying mothers? Check. Desperate girls trying to hit on everyone? Check.

"I'm glad we left." Darius said, as made a right turn towards his condo.

"I just don't know why they still do this in the twenty first century."

Darius shrugged his shoulders. "It's tradition. Are you going to tell a wealthy family they can't carry on what they have been doing for years and years?"

"But it's so stupid and outdated."

"A lot of traditions are."

They were silent for the rest of the way and Nyla flipped through her phone calendar.

"What do you want to do for your birthday?" she asked.

Darius' birthday was approaching in less than two weeks and she knew she wanted to throw him a birthday party but first she had to make sure he hadn't made any other plans with his college friends.

"I'm actually going to fly back to Texas. My mother throws a huge gala every year in my name."

"Oh," Nyla said softly. She'd assume that her and Darius would spend his birthday together doing something nice. She forced her features to morph into something lighter. "If it's a gala anything like tonight's was..."

"It's usually not." Darius responded.

Nyla was silent once more before she cleared her throat. "I actually remembered that I have a proposal that I need to look over and I forgot it at home. Is it okay if you drop me at my place instead?"

Darius' head spun towards her and he frowned. "Are you sure that it can't be done tomorrow? We could head to my place and I could give you a ride in the morning."

Nyla morphed her features into a smile which she thought could pass as believable. "No, I'm sorry. It has to be done tonight. If you're tired, I could call and Uber from your place, I don't want to impose."

"I'll drop you off." Darius said in a tone of finality.

"Great, thanks."

Silence descended in the car. An already terrible evening had taken a turn for the worse. Nyla felt annoyance that Darius had confirmed with his mother without even telling her. But worse of all, she hated the fact that Darius hadn't extended an invitation to her.

When they arrived at her condo, Nyla insisted that Darius didn't need to drop her upstairs, but he completely ignored her. They rode in silence in the elevator till they reached the penthouse.

Nyla turned the key in, "I guess I'll see you sometime next week." She made a move to close the door, but Darius' foot held it open and he waltz right in.